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Looking to buy a house in Northeast Los Angeles – NELA, as it is known – but unclear of the process and amount of money needed? A licensed Realtor can help you figure it out. But for ballpark purposes, it might help to do some preliminary study on your own.

NELA is, after all, one of the hottest markets in all of Los Angeles. Not just the obvious neighborhoods like Glendale and Pasadena, but in smaller, lesser-known neighborhoods.

You might be in love with the schools in Mt. Washington, the housing inventory in Highland Park or the neighborhoods of Eagle Rock, but you have to work through some of these details before you can call any of those places home.

Much is made about closing costs in real estate transactions, and yet these vary for several reasons. The single largest expense, the real estate commission, is covered by the seller (who pays the commission in a split between the buyer’s and the seller’s agents).

Fees the buyer will need to pay at the closing come with some variation; the following are the largest of such costs at closing:

Homeowner association fees – If the property is a condominium the seller might be in arrears with the homeowners association, in which case you will find this out before entering the sales contract. In distressed circumstances (foreclosures, near-foreclosures and short sales), these fees might amount to thousands of dollars.
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) – If your down payment is less than 20% of the price of the property, you will be required to insure the mortgage at between 0.3% and 1.15% of the loan amount.
Origination fee to the lender – Even while you fix your dreams on a Victorian in Glassell Park, a two-unit duplex in Garvanza or fixer-upper in Hermon, you have to go through a large amount of paperwork with a would-be lender to prove your creditworthiness. And yes, they do charge fees at closing for all that fun.
Points – These enable you to change the terms of the loan to your favor if you pay one or more percentage points toward the mortgage amount. If you have the cash and plan to own the property for a decade or longer, paying a point or two upfront can save you much more over time.
Prorated property tax – As the LA tax year begins on July 1, you will need to cover whatever remains in the year in advance from the day of the closing.
Insurance premiums – Protecting the property (as required by all lenders) from damages and liability is required at closing also.
Escrow fees – Third parties performing escrow services need to be compensated for that work. Note that fee structures are not fixed or regulated by the state of California, but are generally set according to the size of the transaction.

A recent study of 550 Human Resource managers by Monster (Summer 2007) states that “the next 20 years will witness a dramatic change in the U.S. workforce. The Baby Boomer generation, 72 million strong, will reach retirement age and have the opportunity to leave the workforce. Successive generations of workers are proportionally smaller, leaving a potential gap in the number of workers versus the number of workers needed to maintain the expansion of the U.S. economy. The ability to effectively manage worker knowledge is becoming a critical core competency in an era when knowledge is the primary resource for delivering organizational value. The chasm that exists between a firms’ most valuable asset, knowledge, and the lack of formal management of this asset represents key opportunities for organizations to gain a competitive edge.”

How does this relate to helping people achieve their dreams? Companies need to find ways to reward and train employees to help them become the best they can be. In doing so, these workers stay longer and help the organization become the best it can be. Some will grow with the companies where they work as they continue to gain more knowledge, skills and attain their dreams. Others will outgrow their current companies and move on to other organizations or to head their own companies. With a shortage of available workers coming online in the next 10-20 years, it is ever more critical that companies start acting today to get the current generation trained and focused on helping the company achieve its future vision.

When organizations help their employees achieve their dreams, they get numerous positive results that affect the bottom line:

Dramatically reduced turnover (employee turnover costs a company 150% of each person’s salary, and can be as high as 250% for sales and managerial positions
A reduction in unauthorized absenteeism (in 2005 the average per-employee cost was $660; today it’s likely much higher)
Increased loyalty to the company
A new culture of empowerment and possibility
A motivated staff where everyone is part of the sales force talking to friends, relatives, customers and prospects

As a business owner or manager, can you really afford NOT to pay attention to your people’s dreams? The answer is no, not when companies worldwide are facing shortages of both management and skilled labor over the next 10-20 years. By 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) estimates there will be 165 million jobs and only 162 million people available in the workforce; 19 percent (30 million) of those available workers will be age 55 and older.

Why haven’t more companies done something about this? Many companies aren’t using a Systems Thinking Approach® to their strategic planning and management process. The strategies they have in place don’t connect with the future reality of the workplace and the hearts and minds of their employees. By focusing primarily on the bottom line, too many companies have forgotten that it’s the people in the organization that make it succeed or fail.

Is there any one dominant answer to preventing a car accident from the ice factors? You bet, but the winning solution might not fit your needs: Don’t drive when ice, snow, slippery patches and black ice are present – simple as that!

As always, it’s a good idea to review the terms of your auto insurance policy before each season – and especially prior to the winter one when many a collision occurs in greater frequency.

Should you absolutely need to drive in icy road conditions the tips below will be a helpful safety guide.

• Buckle up the safety belt. While this is a given, it is especially important for the driver and passengers to secure themselves before riding in a vehicle in icy weather conditions.

• Don’t drive fast! Speeding in the ice can make tires lose essential traction and cause a driver to dangerously lose control. Exercise extra caution and drive especially slow when in contact with black ice.

• Turn in the direction the car slides to! Steering towards the direction your car or truck is going from the rear is the best way to keep control. In the event you turn too far off, change course and steer in the opposite direction.

• Do not slam on the breaks! Putting excessive pressure on the breaks can make you slide and lose control in icy weather. Remember that the car’s antilock feature will not work properly in these conditions so don’t think you can rely on them!

• Avoid hills or inclines. This is a no-brainer. When gravity mixes with the already unfavorable conditions of iciness, you can find yourself without control and in a very risky circumstance.

• Save the saving for the authorities! Though you are a nice guy, kindness in a situation that can cause a collision is not kind. Do not stop to assist those in an accident because you may slide, exposing yourself and other drivers to the potential dangers of a single or multi-vehicle accident. When it is safe to do so, call the authorities and direct them to the scene of the accident.

And don’t forget, if you do find yourself involved in a vehicular accident, call your independent insurance agent as soon as you notify police. Your insurance professional will direct you in a trying time so the incident will end as favorably as possible.